MLB Power Rankings Week 21: Brewers at No. 1 for 5th straight week - ESPN

Another week of MLB Power Rankings means another week of Milwaukee atop our list, as the Brewers are still rolling along as the best team in baseball, though might be slowing down after dropping three of four games to the division rival Cubs.

Sitting at least five games behind the Brewers in the National League standings are the Phillies, Dodgers and Cubs, who are all neck and neck as the battle for playoff positioning begins and we approach the stretch run. The four powerhouse NL teams all reside in our top six.

Meanwhile, in the American League, two juggernauts have continued to set themselves apart: Detroit and Toronto. The Tigers, who jumped back into the top three this week, are a game and a half up on the Blue Jays, who round out our top five. And after a slight slump following the trade deadline, the Yankees seem to have found their footing once again as they attempt to cut into Toronto's division lead.

Our expert panel has ranked every team based on a combination of what we've seen and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Jorge Castillo and David Schoenfield to weigh in with an observation for all 30 teams.

Week 20 | Second-half preview | Preseason rankings

Record: 79-48
Previous ranking: 1

Milwaukee's lead over Philadelphia in the race for the NL's top seed is at five games despite the Brewers dropping three in a row in Chicago, giving them around an 82% shot at landing the coveted No. 1 slot. It's a good omen. Milwaukee has entered the postseason as a 1-seed twice, both times parlaying it into deep playoff runs. In 1982, the Brewers won the AL pennant and, in their only World Series appearance, took the Cardinals